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Wednesday, 12 December 2012

Review: The Steak House Mints – Love Songs For Prostitutes

The Steak
House Mints – Love Songs For Prostitutes(Independent)

Chicago quintet The Steak House Mints is an
old-fashioned guitar pop band, shaping killer hooks amongst clever wordplay and
big tunes. It’s the sort of thing that should never go out of fashion, but such
is the fickle nature of modern music, bands like The Steak House Mints rarely
breakout of their immediate locale. Still, we’re happy to do our bit, and if
classic new wave bands like The Cars, XTC and Squeeze have found a place in
your affections, you should probably make room for this lot, too.

Erstwhile opener “Hi-Ya” displays all the subtle
ingenuity of The Tubes going toe to toe with Queen, but in a good way, and the
following “Yeah, Right” contains a keyboard motif that’s borderline dangerous.
Both are wonderful, but better still is “The Diplomat Hotel” where a horn
section is employed and it’s just so joyous. If you’re not grinning like a loon
and bouncing ‘round the room, it might be worth checking your pulse.